OVERVIEW OF QUALIFICATION

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• Formal Thangka Painting training with Master Zarwa Archok, Master Phuntsok Zangpo and Master Bumdrak Rinpoche of Bumtang, Bhutan.
   

• Received the complete empowerments and transmissions of the entire canon of Nyingma Treasure Teachings (Ka Gong Phur Sum) from Drokben Khyiuchung Lotsawa Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche.
   

• Received the complete cycle of Treasure Teachings of Dudjom Rinpoche's present and past incarnations.
   

• From Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, received the complete empowerments and transmissions of the Gongpa Zangtal of the Northern Treasure Teachings.
   

• Received the complete teachings of the Great Terton Tulku Pema Lingpa.
   

• In 1970, painted mural of the Eight Principle Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche surrounded by the Eight Knowledge Holders and the Twenty-Five Primary Disciples, as well as the Dharma Protectors and the Four Guardian Kings of the Four Directions.
   

• Painted murals during the restoration of the old Bumtar Monastery.
   

• Painted murals in a stupa erected to the memory of the late King of Bhutan.
   

• Completed construction of a small monastery and thangka painting school in Rangbull with the encouragement of H. H. the Dalai Lama.
   

• In 1986, painted murals inside Zangdok Pelri Monastery, India.
   

• Also in 1986, held an Exhibition of Thangka Paintings at Silpakorn University, Thailand.
   

• Painted a series of nine Thangkas of Guru Rinpoche's life story at the request of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche.
   

• Painted a series of nineteen Gelugpa deities, six of which had no extant model thangkas and were painted from detailed descriptions in religious texts.
   

• Exhibitions of Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Art some of which include: November 17, 1998 in Barcelona, Spain; December 14, 1998 in Paris, France; January 9, 1999 in Linsberg, Portugal; April 29, 2000 in Hamden, CT; in 2009, at the Milford Fine Arts Council; Fall of 2015, at Artspace Windham in Willimantic, CT; and January 2016, at the La Grua Center in Stonington Borough, CT.

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WORK EXPERIENCE

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Lama Tsondru completed his first extensive mural in 1970 inside Darjeeling's Tsechu Temple at the order of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche. The mural included the Eight Principle Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, surrounded by the Eight Knowledge Holders and the Twenty Five Primary Disciples, as well as the Dharma Protectors and the Four Guardian Kings of the Four Directions.

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In 1971, in Namtse, Western Sikkim, he painted the murals during the restoration of the old Bumtar Monastery.

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In 1974, he was invited by the Royal Family of Bhutan to paint the murals in a stupa erected to the memory of the late King, His Majesty Jigme Dorje Wangchuk of Bhutan. "At that time I was offered the position of Royal Thangka Artist, an invitation which I declined in favor of opening an art school."

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By the middle of 1976, with encouragement from envoys of H.H. the Dalai Lama, he completed the construction of a small monastery and thangka painting school in Rangbull, a small town near Darjeeling, and began receiving students.

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Starting in 1977, in accordance with Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche's aspirations, the Lama spent nearly three years painting the murals inside Zangdok Palri Monastery in Kalimpong, India. The monastery, designed to replicate the three kayas, was founded by Dudjom Rinpoche and is the main seat of the entire Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.

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During 1982 and 1983, Lama Tsondru painted the murals in a newly constructed temple in Darjeeling, founded by the Queen of Bhutan.

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Since that time he has focused mainly on painting thangkas. In 1986, at the initiative of his friend Laurie Maund from Australia, he held an exhibition at Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

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At the order of Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, the Lama painted the entire series of Guru Rinpoche's life story (9 thangkas) according to the Pema Katang collection of historical legends, one of a vast multitude of versions of Padmasambhava's awe inspiring biography. "During my many years as his disciple, I worked tirelessly to be able to present these and a great number of other thangkas to him as offerings."

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According to Lama Tsondru "I completed another series of nine thangkas depicting Guru Rinpoche's Eight Principal Manifestations and the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas for the Queen of Bhutan.

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Another time I worked with my teacher, Phuntsok Zangpo, to fill a painstakingly difficult order from abroad of the three principle Gelugpa deities painted with the five precious metals."

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Then in 1992, "to fulfill the aspirations of the sublime Ancient Translation master, Kyabje Chatral Kunpangpa Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, I worked from dawn till late at night for a solid month to complete the murals in Kamey Gepheling Temple in Salbari, India.

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The primary deity is a full image of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, surrounded by the five Dhyani Buddhas, the Lineage Masters, the Purification Deities, and the Dharma Protectors. The four Guardian Kings of the Four Directions are painted in the temple entranceway. This service, rendered purely as an offering to my precious root guru Chatral Rinpoche, who consecrated with Kyabje Dodrubchen Rinpoche the entire temple as soon as the murals were finished."

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For a long period of time he received frequent and persistent requests jointly issued by the Palden Gyuto monks and lamas to paint a series of nineteen Gelugpa deities. At last, responding to pressure from the four head administrators who visited his home to add emphasis to their request, he agreed.

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"This assignment was particularly challenging," he says, "as six of the nineteen images in the series had no extant model thangkas from which I could work. By relying solely on detailed descriptions found in the monastery's religious texts, I was able to accurately recover these otherwise extinct deity images required for meditation practices. The thangkas were received with tremendous joy and gratitude at Palden Gyuto Monastery, and I was showered with offerings. I, too, felt very happy and regard this as one of my rewarding contributions to the continuity of the sacred Buddhadharma."

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Biography by Lama Tsondru Sangpo, Translated by Heidi Nevin

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